What a pound of cure is worth

Benjamin Franklin had the right idea, but his numbers were off. An ambitious Harvard study shows that while an ounce of prevention may equal a pound of cure, medical treatments use far less of society's resources than most other measures that could be taken to prevent premature deaths.

During the current political attacks on purportedly bloated health care costs, the study by the Harvard School of Public Health's Center for Risk Analysis is a timely reminder that medical intervention can be a cost-effective way to save lives...